Looking multi-family property analyzer spreadsheet

[BlueRibbonPartnerships]

Hello,

I am about to venture into the wonderful world of multi-family investing. If anyone has a multi-family property analyzer spreadsheet that they would like to share with me, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your time,
Peter Jacobs

 

[Dan_Eisenhauer]

There are several on the market that I know of. I have used InvestitPro for several years and swear by it. It has numerous functions within the one package, along with a number of different templates all set up and ready for you to use, including: condo conversion or construction, multi-use, new development, residential rental, etc, etc. You can also set up your own templates if you tend to analyze similar properties repeatedly. The variety of reports is incredible.

InvestitPro website

Another one that is very easy to use, and which I have been trying recently is basically an enhanced Excel spreadsheet called Cash Flow Analyzer. I like its user friendly nature and good reports.

Cash Flow Analyzer website

Another one that I used when I first began analyzing MF is the Canadian version APOD from CCIM. It is good for quick and dirty analysis, but lacks reports. It is an Excel spreadsheet, and I found myself adding stuff to it, such as calculating Expense to Income Ratio, for a quick check. There are no reports.

CCIM website CCIM has changed its digital APOD, and it is now the Financial Calculator. It does have a button to calculate Cdn Mortgages, but I have been unable to activate it, and have never contacted CCIM to learn how to do that. This spreadsheet is quite a bit different than the one I was using. It is a free download.

Here is another possibility for you. I have been using REMA for my single family projects, and I like it. It can be used for MF analysis, as well. One of the features I like about REMA is the ability to enter different partnership arrangements, and to calculate the JVs returns on those splits. Other than a 4plex, I have not analyzed any MF since starting to use REMA, so I cannot really comment on how well it does that chore. It does 4plexes well, so larger bldgs should be no problem. I like REMAs reports, as well, especially the IRR for individual partners.

REMA website

Of the four I have listed, I would recommend them in this order:
[list type=decimal][*]REMA[*]InvestitProCash Flow AnalyzerCCIM APOD[/list type=decimal]These are all fairly inexpensive programs, especially CCIM. Try them all to see how you like them. It really comes down to personal preference in the end..

 

[Mike Milovick]

Dan;

Why would you rank REMA above Landlord Cash Flow Analyzer or CCIM APOD? Do you live in a province without tax? Maybe this is an Alberta thing?

What am I mssing? Do CCA and marginal tax rate not play into your investment decision - or affect your decision when comparing alternative investments?

Tell me what I am missing.

Mike

QUOTE (Dan_Eisenhauer @ Jun 2 2009, 11:38 AM) There are several on the market that I know of. I have used InvestitPro for several years and swear by it. It has numerous functions within the one package, along with a number of different templates all set up and ready for you to use, including: condo conversion or construction, multi-use, new development, residential rental, etc, etc. You can also set up your own templates if you tend to analyze similar properties repeatedly. The variety of reports is incredible.

InvestitPro website

Another one that is very easy to use, and which I have been trying recently is basically an enhanced Excel spreadsheet called Cash Flow Analyzer. I like its user friendly nature and good reports.

Cash Flow Analyzer website

Another one that I used when I first began analyzing MF is the Canadian version APOD from CCIM. It is good for quick and dirty analysis, but lacks reports. It is an Excel spreadsheet, and I found myself adding stuff to it, such as calculating Expense to Income Ratio, for a quick check. There are no reports.

CCIM website CCIM has changed its digital APOD, and it is now the Financial Calculator. It does have a button to calculate Cdn Mortgages, but I have been unable to activate it, and have never contacted CCIM to learn how to do that. This spreadsheet is quite a bit different than the one I was using. It is a free download.

Here is another possibility for you. I have been using REMA for my single family projects, and I like it. It can be used for MF analysis, as well. One of the features I like about REMA is the ability to enter different partnership arrangements, and to calculate the JVs returns on those splits. Other than a 4plex, I have not analyzed any MF since starting to use REMA, so I cannot really comment on how well it does that chore. It does 4plexes well, so larger bldgs should be no problem. I like REMAs reports, as well, especially the IRR for individual partners.

REMA website

Of the four I have listed, I would recommend them in this order:
[list type=decimal][*]REMA[*]InvestitProCash Flow AnalyzerCCIM APOD[/list type=decimal]These are all fairly inexpensive programs, especially CCIM. Try them all to see how you like them. It really comes down to personal preference in the end..

 

[GarthChapman]

The issue- each person or their corporate marginal tax rate is different, depending on income and province, not to mention previous years` income or capital tax losses that can come into the equation.

My suggestion- take the returns generated by whatever method or software you use, and simply apply your tax rate to that return.

My disclosure- I am the developer of REMA. I really don`t want to be in a position where people are using our software to make tax related decisions. That is a job for the individual and their tax advisors.

 

[Dan_Eisenhauer]

I ranked them in that order mostly for ease of use and the quality of their reports.

The CCIM APOD has no report. The CFA has good reports, but, if you have more than one JV partner, with different ownership ratios, you need to run separate numbers for each partner... a pain in your lower regions. InvestitPro does not have a partnership report at all.

When I was taught to analyze income properties, way back in the ice ages, I was taught to include taxes. We always used the maximum marginal tax rate in our calculations. BUT, these programs are used to give you an estimate of the properties` performance. Most of us do not know how tax implications impact a deal. IMHO, the tax implications are not necessary to know whether or not a property will make a good or bad investment. I have been looking at the PRE-TAX ROI only for years now. However, as Garth points out, if taxes are your thing, and you know how to apply them, use them.

FYI: Investit Pro has an option to turn of the tax calculations. Investit Pro is the most sophisticated of the four programs I mentioned, especially when it has numerous other components and templates within it.